Company executives could now be tried for land grabs and environmental destruction

Today’s announcement in The Hague is critical
first step in crackdown on violence and theft in global trade in land and
natural resources

A move by the Prosecutor of the International
Criminal Court to expand its focus signals a landmark shift in international
criminal justice and could reshape how business is done in developing
countries, says Global Witness. Company executives, politicians and other
individuals could now be held criminally responsible under international
law for crimes linked to land grabbing and environmental
destruction.

Global Witness has been campaigning for the ICC to
investigate crimes committed amid the global rush for land and natural
resources, which has seen an area the size of Germany leased to investors in
developing countries since 2000. (1) This has led to millions of people being
evicted from their land – illegally and often violently - in countries that
lack functioning national courts.

At its worst, this violence is fatal. According to
Global Witness data, in 2015 more than three people were murdered a week
defending their land from theft and destructive industries – the deadliest year
on record. (2) Conflicts over mining were the number one cause of
killings, followed by agribusiness, hydroelectric dams and logging.

“Chasing communities off their land and trashing
the environment has become an accepted way of doing business in many
resource-rich yet cash-poor countries,” said Gillian Caldwell, Executive
Director at Global Witness.

“Today’s decision by the ICC shows that the age of
impunity is coming to an end. Company bosses and politicians complicit in
violently seizing land, razing tropical forests or poisoning water sources
could soon find themselves standing trial in the Hague alongside war criminals
and dictators. The ICC’s interest could help improve the lives of millions
of people and protect critical ecosystems.”

In its 14-year history the ICC has focused almost
exclusively on crimes committed during armed conflict, whether crimes against
humanity or war crimes. This has left a significant blind spot in the Court’s
approach – it was not investigating mass atrocities committed in the name of
profit that occur during peacetime.

Today the Court’s Prosecutor, Fatou B. Bensouda,
acknowledged this hole in its focus, adding to its priority list the
investigation of crimes that result in the illegal dispossession of land, the
illegal exploitation of natural resources and the destruction of the
environment. The move comes ahead of a decision by the Prosecutor whether to
investigate a case filed in 2014 that catalogues mass human rights abuses linked
to systematic land seizures in Cambodia, where business leaders have been
working hand-in-glove with the country’s kleptocratic government. (3)

This change to ICC policy is a critical first step
in addressing the legal vacuum that is helping drive violence and theft in the
global trade in land. Across much of Africa, Asia and Latin America, rural
communities lack legal rights to land, despite having relied upon it for
generations. In major consumer blocs like the EU and the US, traders or
investors are under no legal obligation to check that products like palm oil,
rubber or gold were legally or ethically sourced.

In an effort to bring an end to the secrecy and
impunity that pervade the land sector, Global Witness is campaigning for new EU
laws to prevent European investors from financing land grabs abroad, as well as
for international regulations to ensure that companies are legally obliged to
respect land rights wherever they operate.

“The ICC announcement sends a powerful message that
the terrible impacts of land grabbing and environmental destruction have been
acknowledged at the highest level of criminal justice,” said Gillian Caldwell.

“National governments and legislators should now
follow suit. Land rights must be strengthened in countries that sell land, and
respected by the companies that invest in it. A far stronger legal architecture
is required internationally to bring an end to the human suffering and
environmental cost of the global trade in land.”

(3) This case will be a key test for the ICC’s new
policy. If accepted, this would be the first case in international
criminal law where the primary allegations relate to the illegal exploitation
of land. Corporate actors in Cambodia could be the prime targets for
investigation - they have been complicit in a widespread and systematic
campaign of illegal land seizures, leading to the forcibledisplacement
of hundreds of thousands of Cambodians with the help of the state police,
military and judiciary. The case was filed at the ICC by international human
rights lawyer Richard J Rogers, of the law firm Global Diligence LLP, relying
on evidence collected by Cambodian and international organisations, including
Global Witness.